MX2014014198A - Damping unit for a lift. - Google Patents

Abstract

A damping unit (1) for a lift, for reducing vertical oscillation of a car (2) during a standstill period, has brake‑shoe holders (8, 8') provided with brake shoes (7, 7'). The brake‑shoe holders (8, 8') are connected to an electric motor (4) via a toothed‑gearing mechanism. The damping unit (1) also comprises a spring device (6), which is configured as a metallic bending spring and is arranged between the car and a carrier structure (20) for the brake‑shoe holders (8, 8').

Description

ELEVATOR AMORTIGATION UNIT FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a damping unit for an elevator. The elevators include cabins that can be moved through carrying means, for example in the form of supporting cables or carrying belts by means of a motor unit in an elevator hoistway. Guide rails that define a linear guide for the elevator car are fixed in the elevator box. People or materials entering or leaving the cab during a cab stop cause undesirable vertical oscillations of the cab due to the elasticity of the supporting means. Similar vertical oscillations occur in particular in elevators that use carrier belts as supporting means, these recently enjoying increasing popularity. Since belts have a less favorable oscillatory behavior compared to steel cables, the vertical oscillations increasingly undermine travelers' sense of comfort and safety of operation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION From EP 1 067 084 B1 a device is known for inhibiting vertical oscillations of the elevator car in stop stages. The device has a brake caliper that can be pressed against the guide rail by means of an angled lever. Brake jaws are arranged at the front ends of the brake caliper levers. This device retains the cab more or less rigidly in the guide rails because of a friction connection. It was observed, however, in the praxis that this type of subjection is very demanding in terms of the control and regulation technology. In particular, it is difficult or expensive to operate the elevator in such a way that the cab can start without jerking after a cab stop.

Instead of using clamping devices it is possible to achieve a comfort pleasant enough for the passengers during the stoppage of the cabin also if the vertical oscillations of the cabin are merely damped or reduced, for which substantially smaller forces are required. A damping unit for the reduction of vertical oscillations of the cabin in stop stages is shown, for example, in EP 1 424 302 Al. The damping unit has a lever arm that extends approximately over half the depth of the cab, at whose free end there is a brake jaw which is pivotably housed. The damping unit is mechanically coupled to a door opening unit of the car; a damping unit that can be activated by The means of driving the door requires a complicated mechanism of lever and gear, so this solution is expensive and susceptible to failures. It is also not possible to incorporate this device later in elevator systems of older models already existing. A further disadvantage is that the cabin's damping behavior does not satisfy higher requirements in terms of travel comfort and operational safety.

From WO 2011/021064 A1 an arrangement for reducing vertical oscillations of an elevator car during a stop is known, in which bracket jaw supports fixed in an articulated manner on lever arms can be moved by means of an electromotor cylinder against the guide rail. The lever arms are connected here on one side in an articulated manner with a base plate fixed to a frame part of the car. The two lever arms are made in two parts and the respective lever parts can be moved relative to each other by means of a spring-supported damping mechanism comprising in each case a helical compression spring. Undesirable vertical oscillations during a cab shutdown can hardly be eliminated with this arrangement and only with a high investment in regulation technology. In addition to the complex construction, the arrangement is also expensive and heavy. Another disadvantage is that the arrangement requires a lot of space.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION It is, therefore, the object of the present invention to avoid the disadvantages of the known and to create in particular a damping unit that allows to optimally and easily reduce the vertical oscillations of the elevator car during a stoppage. The damping unit should also be suitable for installation in existing systems. Such modernization of the elevator system should be simple and possible with comparatively low costs.

These objects are achieved inventively by means of a device having the features of claim 1. The damping unit preferably equipped with two brake jaws contains brake jaw supports which are in active connection with an actuator for the movement of the brake calipers. The brake jaws can travel in a resting position during the journey of the cab along a guide rail without making contact with it. After activating the actuator, which is connected via a gear with the brake caliper brackets, the brake calipers, clamped by the brake caliper brackets, are pressed during the stopping of the cab in a position active against the guide rail. The damping unit further has a housing or other carrier structure (e.g. in the form of a simple carrier plate) for the brake jaw mounts. Thanks to the fact that the damping unit is a spring unit fixed on the carrier structure that can be fixed or fixed in the cab and serves for the elastic support of the supporting structure, a series of advantages is obtained. Thanks to the spring unit, undesirable lateral deviations of the cabin transverse to the direction of travel can be easily absorbed and reduced. In addition, the tolerances due to production and assembly between the guide rail and the brake jaws have no unfavorable impact.

The spring unit is designed as a metal bending spring. The bending spring can be configured in such a way that it can be deflected only in two dimensions. Bending springs also have the advantage that they can be connected in a simple way to both the supporting structure and the cab. Bending springs can also be manufactured simply and economically. Finally, the bending springs can be adjusted optimally to the desired degrees of freedom.

The spring unit is configured particularly advantageously in the form of a box-shaped profile with an approximately C-shaped cross section. By means of such a C-shaped profile, the desirable two-dimensional elastic support of the supporting structure can be advantageously achieved. The C-shaped profile can be arranged or positioned in such a way in the damping unit that the longitudinal direction of the profile extends parallel to the braking surfaces of the brake jaws. Another advantage of such a spring unit is that the cavity defined by the C can be used to accommodate the guide shoe totally or partially, which allows to realize compact elevator cabins with comparatively reduced construction heights.

The spring unit may have a fastening section that rests on or on the supporting structure for fixing the supporting structure and two side walls opposite each other that follow the fixing section preferably approximately perpendicularly. The side walls can also be followed by end sections extending in each case parallel to the fastening section which allow the damping unit to be fixed in the cab, for example in the form of holes for accommodating screws.

It can also be an advantage if each brake jaw is resiliently supported in each case by means of at least one elastic element in the respective brake jaw holder. The additional elastic support of the brake jaws results in an additional optimized behavior of the cab during the stop stages. Suitable as elastic elements are in particular metallic elastic means. In a particular modality, the elastic element can be a helical compression spring. The damping unit may have one, two or even a plurality of helical compression springs.

It can also be advantageous if the brake jaws are arranged in the brake jaw supports so that they can be displaced in a limited manner. To limit the travel path, the brake jaw mounts can be equipped with corresponding stops.

The brake jaws can be fixed on support elements or supported on them. The support elements can be produced from a metallic material, for example from steel. For the elastic support of the brake jaws, the elastic elements can come to rest on one side of the support elements. Elastic elements, therefore, can come up on one side in the supports of brake jaws and on the other side in the support elements.

For the optimum adjustment of the damping force, it is advantageous if the actuator comprises a motor that can be driven preferably in electrical form. This motor can be embodied, for example, as a step motor, with which the desired clamping force can be adjusted with great precision to reduce the vertical oscillations of the cab.

Furthermore, it can be particularly advantageous if the damping unit has a common motor for moving both brake jaws, with which the brake jaw supports can be moved preferably simultaneously but in the opposite direction.

The damping unit can have, for example, a supporting structure formed by a housing in which the brake jaw supports are arranged and preferably supported in a displaceable manner. In this case, the direction of travel would be transversal in relation to the direction of travel or travel of the cabin.

The damping unit may comprise an eccentric arrangement by which the brake jaws can be moved back and forth. Thanks to the eccentric arrangement, the resting position can be adjusted in a particularly simple and efficient manner. the active position of the brake caliper brackets. The eccentric mechanism allows in particular a precise and simultaneously simple application of the braking surface with a clamping force with high force transmission to reduce the vertical oscillations of the elevator car in the stopping stages, which allows the use of actuators small (eg an electric motor).

An advantageous transmission connection between the brake caliper brackets and the actuator occurs if the actuator is connected through a gear with the brake caliper brackets.

The gear can be configured, for example, as a spur gear and have a central motor gear adjacent to a motor shaft of the motor and connected to rotational test with it. The gear unit may further have two eccentric gears, one eccentric gear being assigned to each respectively a brake jaw. Depending on the rotational position of the eccentric gears that can be driven by the motor gear, the resting position or the active position for the brake jaws can be defined.

The eccentric gears may have eccentrically shaped journals (i.e., each eccentric gear has a die in each case) that engage in each case in the bearing housings of the jaws of brake to move the brake carriers. The trunnions define the resting position or the active position as a function of the rotational position.

The invention can also have as an object an elevator having a cab and at least one damping unit in the manner of the damping unit described in the foregoing. The spring unit is arranged between the supporting structure and the car and forms, so to speak, an elastic interface of a damping unit with the car.

Other particular features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following description of an exemplary embodiment and the figures. It shows: BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Figure 1 a simplified representation of an elevator in a side view, Figure 2 a representation of an inventive damping unit for an elevator, Figure 3 a cross-section through the damping unit (section line A-A in Figure 2), Figure 4 a gear for the damping unit according to figure 2, Figure 5 an exploded perspective view of the cushioning unit, Figure 6 an enlarged representation of a module comprising a brake caliper bracket and a brake jaw for the damping unit in accordance with Figure 2 and Figure 7 an exploded perspective view of the module of figure 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Figure 1 shows an elevator with a cabin 2 that can be moved vertically up and down to transport people or materials. As carrier means for moving the cabin 2, carrying means 34 made as belts or cables are exemplary. As a guide for the car 2, the elevator system has two guide rails 3 extending in the vertical z direction of travel. Each guide rail 3 has three guide surfaces that extend in the direction of travel of the cabin. In the booth 2, guide shoes made as roller guide shoes are fixed in FIG. 1 as an example. With the damping unit 1 undesirable vertical oscillations of the car can be reduced during a stoppage. Similar vertical oscillations are generated when people enter or leave the cabin 2. The cabin 2 is oscillating due to the change of load. This phenomenon is particularly pronounced in elevators based on high-load bearing belts of box, z marks the direction in which the guide rail extends; arrow z also indicates the direction of travel of cabin 2.

To reduce vertical oscillations the elevator system has damping units 1 arranged on both sides of the car 2. The two damping units 1 can be controlled by means of a control unit (not shown). The control unit sends a control command to the damping unit as soon as the cabin, for example, stops or when the cabin door is opened. The activation is usually maintained for the entire time until the doors have been closed again and therefore there is no longer any possibility of essential load changes. During the activation, the control unit can send additional control commands for the damping unit.

In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 1, the damping units 1 are fastened, as an example, in the cabin 2 above, being placed separately from the upper guide shoes 14. Depending on the configuration of the cab and the space requirements, the guide shoes and the damping units can be combined or arranged together in other ways. For example, at least one damping unit could also be fixed down in the cab. As seen, by example, in the following figure 2, the damping unit can be fixed in a console comprising the guide shoe 15 totally or partially. In FIG. 2, the console is referred to as a spring unit designated 6 and explained in more detail below. The guide shoe 15, designed by way of example as a sliding guide shoe and shown with interrupted lines, is enclosed, as can be seen, by the unit 6 forming a "C".

In figure 2 a damping unit 1 is shown in a front view of one side. The damping unit 1 contains two opposing brake jaws 7, each brake jaw being oriented in each case towards one of the parallel orthogonal guide surfaces of the guide rails (not shown here). Each brake jaw 7 is held by a brake jaw holder, designated 8. The brake jaw supports 8 are laterally supported on fastening elements 16 and can be moved in the direction of the guide rail or in the opposite direction to this one. . The arrows s indicate the respective direction of movement. Each of the guide elements 16 is fixed by screw connections 36 in a housing 20.

The brake jaws 7 are housed together with the support elements 9 elastically in the support brackets. brake jaws 8. The brake jaws 7 yield to contact with the respective guide surfaces of the guide rail and move backwards in the direction b, relative to the brake jaw support 8. This additional elastic support, however, It is not forced. Tests showed that satisfactory results can be achieved in terms of travel comfort and safety of operation with the use of damping units that were equipped with elastic units made as bending springs, but in which the brake jaws are more or less connected rigidly with the brake jaw mounts, ie that do not have brake jaws elastically supported by mechanical springs.

In the region of the upper side of the housing 20 is a profile in the form of a drawer with a C-shaped cross section. This C-profile forms a spring unit 6 with which the housing 20 is supported with the brake jaws 7. and the brake jaw mounts 8 elastically in the cab, indicated by 2. The spring unit 6 that is formed of a metal sheet by bending processes has a fastening section 21, side walls 22 that follow this at right angles and end sections 23 that follow at right angles to the side walls. The C-profile for the spring unit 6 is preferably produced from a sheet metal cut-out of steel. Of particular preference spring steel is used here. As can be seen, the spring unit 6 is consequently configured as a metal bending spring. The spring path of the elastic support created by the spring unit 6 is again indicated by a double arrow v. The special configuration of the spring unit 6 results in a parallelogram configuration which allows a parallel movement of the housing 20 in the direction of the lower side of the car in the direction v respectively transverse in the horizontal direction to the direction of travel z.

The end sections 23 of the spring unit 6 rest flatly on a part of the car 2 and are firmly connected to it through a screw connection 37. The car part referred to can be formed, for example, by the floor of the cab, a cab frame or other part associated with the cab.

From the section shown according to FIG. 3, additional details of the damping unit 1 can be seen. In addition, the guide rail 3 is shown. In the rest position shown in FIG. 3, the brake jaws 7 can move during the travel of the vehicle. the cab along the guide rail 3 without making contact with it. During a stop, the brake caliper brackets 8 are pushed together with the brake calipers 7 associated against them. the guide rail 3. The brake jaws 7 pressed against the respective guiding surfaces of the guide rail 3 produce a reduction of the vertical oscillations of the cabin due to changes in load. The activation can be caused, for example, by the opening of the door or possibly also before (e.g., as soon as the cab stops). As an actuator for the movement of the brake jaw carrier 8, an electric motor designated 4 is presently present. Other actuators, such as e.g., would also be conceivable. lifting drives. The electric motor 4 is connected via a transmission to the brake jaw supports 8. The transmission connection comprises a gear 10 and an eccentric arrangement for the conversion of the rotary motion into the linear movement in the direction s.

The gear 10 has here a central motor gear 11 connected to the motor shaft of the electric motor 4 which in turn drives the gears designated 12 and 12 '. As can be seen from figure 3 and from the following figure 4, the gear 10 is configured as a gear gear of straight gears. Of course, other types of gears would be imaginable, however. The journals 13 and 13 'are arranged eccentrically with respect to the axes of rotation R of the gears 12, 12', whereby the two gears 12, 12 'are designated hereinafter as "eccentric gears". Each of the eccentric gears 12, 12 'is rotatably connected with shaft parts 18 which are formed on the front face of the trunnions 13.

The details regarding the arrangement and mode of action of the gear 10 of the damping unit are shown in Figure 4. Each of the eccentric gear 12, 12 'is firmly connected in a positive connection by means of a connection of shaft and hub with shaft part 18 that can rotate about the axis of rotation R. In the rest position shown, the drive elements (eg cotter springs) are oriented against each other. The journals 13 and 13 'are located eccentrically in a supporting opening of the brake caliper support and act concurrently with the respective supporting opening that the brake caliper brackets and, with them, also the brake calipers can move forwardly. and turned horizontally by rotating the trunnions 13, 13 '. For example, it is clearly seen in FIG. 4 that the axis of the journal 13 does not coincide with the axis of rotation R of the eccentric gear 12, and therefore has an eccentric position. The motor is activated to set the active position. The trunnions 13, 13 'connected to the motor through the gear then undergo a rotation in each case 180 ° on the R axis, whereby the brake jaws move against the corresponding guiding surfaces of the guide rail and press against them.

In FIG. 5, the components of the damping unit can be seen separately. In each case a brake jaw 7 and a brake jaw bracket 8 are components of a module that can be moved back and forth laterally in guide portions 16 in the manner of rails in the direction transverse to the direction of travel or seen along the profile of the guide rails. A separate module is shown at the bottom right in Figure 5, the brake jaws and brake holders being designated 7 'and 8'. It is clear from FIG. 5 that the carrying structure is essentially in three parts and consists of a lower housing part 26, a housing upper part 25 and a housing part 27 that is U-shaped in cross section or view above. The guide parts 16 'are fixed by screws 36.2 and nuts 36.1 in the housing part 27. The gear 10 can be preassembled in a wall of the rear side 24 formed of sheet metal, which is assembled in the final assembly in the rest of the frame. the housing.

The spring unit 6 made as a C-shaped bending spring has end sections 23 oriented against each other having holes 30 for the screw connection for fixing the spring unit 6 in the cabin (which is not presently shown). By using screws 33, the spring unit 6 is screwed in the region of the upper face 25 to the housing of the damping unit and fixed in this way.

Figures 6 and 7 show a module (respectively a brake caliper unit) consisting of brake caliper bracket 8 and brake caliper 7. Brake jaw 7 can be produced from a metallic material. The brake jaw 7 may also consist of a plastic material or a mixture of materials. Advantageous brake surfaces for the desired reduction of the vertical oscillations of the cab are given, for example, when the brake shoes known at least in the automotive industry under the designation 'semi-metallic', 'organic' are used for the brake jaws. 'or' low-metallic '.

The brake jaw 7 rests on a comparatively rigid steel support element 9. The brake jaw 7 supported on the support element 9 rests elastically through two helical compression springs 5 on the brake caliper bracket 8. The arrow w indicates the direction of movement in which the brake caliper 7 move back when loading the rail guide. The brake jaw 7 is arranged in the brake jaw holder 8 together with the associated support elements by means of screws 31 and nuts 32 in a limitedly displaceable manner. If required it is possible to tighten the inner or previous nuts 32 to apply a preload to the brake caliper 7. The outer or rear nuts serve as locknuts. To ensure as linear as possible movement of the brake jaw 7 when applying load to the guide rail, a cylindrical guide journal 28 is provided in the brake caliper holder and in the support member 9 a guide housing 29 complementary to the guide pin .

Claims (10)

1. Damping unit for an elevator for the reduction of vertical oscillations of a cab during a stop, having brake jaw supports provided with brake jaws opposite to each other and which can be moved by means of an actuator between a rest position and a Active position, the brake jaws can move in the rest position during a non-contacting cabin trip along a guide rail and can be tightened during a stop against the guide rail, the brake jaw supports being connected to the actuator by means of a transmission, the damping unit having a housing or other bearing structure for the brake caliper supports, characterized in that a fixed spring unit can be fixed in the cabin for the elastic support of the housing or of the supporting structure. in the housing or in the supporting structure, the spring unit being configured as a metal bending spring.

2. Damping unit according to claim 1, characterized in that the spring unit forms a profile having an approximately C-shaped cross section.

3. Damping unit according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the unit of The spring has a fixing section that rests on or on the supporting structure for fixing the supporting structure and two side walls which follow the fixing section preferably approximately at right angles.

4. Damping unit according to claim 3, characterized in that the end walls follow end sections extending in each case in parallel to the fastening section, by means of which the damping unit can be fixed in the cabin .

5. The damping unit according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the brake jaws are resiliently supported in each case by means of at least one spring element in the brake jaw holder.

6. Damping unit according to claim 5, characterized in that the brake jaws are arranged in a limited displaceable manner in the brake jaw supports.

7. Damping unit according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the brake jaws are fixed in support elements with which the spring elements for the elastic support of the brake jaws meet.

8. Clamping unit according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the damping unit has a common motor for movement by means of which the two brake jaw supports can be moved.

9. Damping unit according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the brake jaw supports can be moved through an eccentric arrangement for adjusting the rest position or the active position.

10. Elevator having a cabin and, disposed in the cabin, at least one cushion unit according to one of claims 1 to 9.